Methods and systems for implementing a locked mode for viewing media assets
Methods and systems that provide an interactive media guidance application having a locked mode for viewing media assets. In the locked mode, the interactive media guidance application may provide media assets suited to a certain audience. The interactive media guidance application may determine suitable media assets for the locked mode based on media assets viewed by other users having characteristics similar to the user of the interactive media guidance application. In the locked mode, the interactive media guidance application may allow access to only certain media assets and/or limit the time period for which the media assets are presented.
1. A method comprising:
retrieving characteristics from a first user profile;
receiving, from a second user profile associated with the first user profile, a specification of a control setting for the first user profile;
requesting information regarding media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile; and
retrieving information regarding suitable media assets based on the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile, the received specification of the control setting for the first user profile, and the requested information regarding media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile.
2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
determining the other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile by:
comparing characteristics of the other user profiles with the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile to determine a number of overlapping characteristics; and
determining whether the number of the overlapping characteristics exceeds a threshold.
3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
generating for display a selectable option to perform the specification of the control setting for the first user profile; and
generating for display a selectable option to perform the requesting of the information regarding the media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristics include information about at least one of age, gender, or favorite programs.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the characteristics include information about the favorite programs, and wherein the information about the favorite programs includes information about at least one of genre, source, subject matter, or media guidance application.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the information about the favorite programs includes information about the media guidance application, and wherein the information about the media guidance application includes at least one of program information, guidance application settings, user preferences, user profile information, media listings, media-related information, on-demand information, blog information, or website information.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the information about the media guidance application includes the media-related information, and wherein the media-related information includes at least one of broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings, parental control ratings, critic's ratings, genre, category, actor, logo data for broadcasters' logos, logo data for providers' logos, media format, or advertisements.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the media-related information includes the media format, and wherein the media format includes information about at least one of a standard definition format, a high definition format, or a 3D format.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the media-related information includes the information about the advertisements, and wherein the information about the advertisements includes information about at least one of text, images, or media clips.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user profile is a child user profile, and wherein the second user profile is an adult user profile, or
wherein the first user profile is an elderly user profile, and wherein the second user profile is a family member user profile.
11. A system comprising:
circuitry configured to:
retrieve characteristics from a first user profile;
receive, from a second user profile associated with the first user profile, a specification of a control setting for the first user profile;
request information regarding media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile; and
retrieve information regarding suitable media assets based on the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile, the received specification of the control setting for the first user profile, and the requested information regarding media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the circuitry is configured to:
determine the other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile by:
comparing characteristics of the other user profiles with the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile to determine a number of overlapping characteristics; and
determining whether the number of the overlapping characteristics exceeds a threshold.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the circuitry is configured to:
generate for display a selectable option to perform the specification of the control setting for the first user profile; and
generate for display a selectable option to perform the requesting of the information regarding the media assets associated with other user profiles having characteristics similar to the retrieved characteristics from the first user profile.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the characteristics include information about at least one of age, gender, or favorite programs.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the characteristics include information about the favorite programs, and wherein the information about the favorite programs includes information about at least one of genre, source, subject matter, or media guidance application.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the information about the favorite programs includes information about the media guidance application, and wherein the information about the media guidance application includes at least one of program information, guidance application settings, user preferences, user profile information, media listings, media-related information, on-demand information, blog information, or website information.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the information about the media guidance application includes the media-related information, and wherein the media-related information includes at least one of broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings, parental control ratings, critic's ratings, genre, category, actor, logo data for broadcasters' logos, logo data for providers' logos, media format, or advertisements.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the media-related information includes the media format, and wherein the media format includes information about at least one of a standard definition format, a high definition format, or a 3D format.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the media-related information includes the information about the advertisements, and wherein the information about the advertisements includes information about at least one of text, images, or media clips.
20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first user profile is a child user profile, and wherein the second user profile is an adult user profile, or
wherein the first user profile is an elderly user profile, and wherein the second user profile is a family member user profile.